Sleep Talking
by erskine exposed
Summary: [Oneshot] Neji, Tenten, and Lee are returning from a mission, and have to camp out. What will Tenten say if she starts talking in her sleep, and how will Neji respond? Please just read the story! Reviews appreciated!


Team Gai was on a mission. Again. Actually, they were now coming back from a mission that they had successfully completed. Neji was scowling at their surroundings. Despite the fact that he was a jounin, Neji still went on some missions with his former team mates, Tenten and Lee.

Once they got back to Konoha, Tsunade-hime was going to get an earful. She had told them all they had to do was rescue someone's cat from a tree. What she had failed to mention was that the "cat" was a 400 pound man dressed in a lion costume, who had fled upwards when his wife caught him acting as a clown for a 5 year old's birthday party. Why she had gone after her husband with a frying pan for being dressed so….interestingly, Neji had no idea. However, it had taken several hours, nearly a pint of sedative and a sharp reprimand to calm the woman down enough for the man to even consider coming down. Then, there was the fact that none of the tree's branches could support the man's monstrous weight. It had taken all three ninja to get the man to the ground safely.

Neji had been ready to strangle the next person who so much glanced at him funny. Noting her team mate's distress, Tenten kept Lee occupied while Neji fumed silently. Since what should have been a five minute mission turned into a six hour one, the team decided they should camp before they continued on to Konoha.

Secretly, Tenten was glad for this respite. Even for a shinobi, 400 pounds was a lot to carry down a tree. The only bad part about camping out was that no one had thought to bring tents or sleeping bags, as they hadn't thought about staying over. Luckily, the night sky was clear, and it didn't look like there was going to be any rain.

As soon as they came to a clearing, Lee and Tenten dropped like stones, and fell asleep. Neji shook his head at his two hapless team mates. Lee was already snoring, and Tenten looked too peaceful to be woken up.

Making a quick decision, Neji lay down next to Tenten, as far away from the snorer as he could get. His pale eyes surveyed the starry sky, but sleep would not claim him. Finally, he rolled to his side and looked at Tenten. Her face looked so peaceful as she slept, and he had to consciously keep his hand from brushing the hair from her eyes. He couldn't but smile at the sight of her two buns, which remained in place, even while she slept.

Neji had never had the honor of seeing what she looked like with her hair down, and he doubted that there were many who had. Sometimes, during their training, he had tried to cut the hair ties with a kunai, but he wasn't the weapons specialist. He flipped onto his back again and sighed. Then, he heard a sound, and turned back to Tenten.

Her lips were moving, and strange mutters were coming out, but Neji was unsure if she was still awake or not.

"Tenten?" he asked the girl nervously. If she was awake, they could talk, but if she was asleep, neji wasn't too worried about her waking up. After all, she could sleep through both Lee and Gai's snores.

"Neji?" the girl responded sleepily.

"Tenten, are you awake?"

"Of course not Neji! Why would I be asleep at the beach?" she asked, taken aback.

_Hmm, she's got to be sleeping. Tenten's not stupid, she knows we're in a forest. _**(AN: There's a reason he's called the Hyuga Prodigy.) **Neji thought to himself, and settled back down. Just as he was beginning to fall asleep, he heard her voice again.

"Neji, you look funny."

Neji developed an anime vein and said, through gritted teeth, "What did you say?"

Tenten smiled in her sleep and said, "You look funny in your trunks, and your hair's all wet."

Slightly confused, Neji mulled over her statement until he remembered they were "at" the beach. "Hn," he replied.

"How do I look?" the girl asked him drowsily.

"Hn," he replied again.

"Nejiiiiiii! Please tell me," she whined.

He sighed, and replied evenly, "Well I couldn't really say, as I can't see you."

"Oh," came the reply. "Well, I'm wearing that white and red bikini…" her voice trailed off, and Neji used all his willpower to hold back a nosebleed.

"Well?" Tenten asked, expecting him to answer her question.

"Y-you…look…very…pretty," Neji managed to squeeze out. He was having enough problems visualizing her in her swimsuit, let alone verbalizing his feelings about those thoughts.

"Mm. Thanks Neji!" she said, and snuggled a little closer to his side.

Neji's breathing became labored, and his thoughts were rushing. He'd never felt this way before, so why would it start now. _Maybe, _a nagging voice in his mind said, _you love her._

_**No. I don't love her, **_he responded darkly.

_Sure. I believe you._

_**Well, yeah, she's talented, and smart, and funny, and so beautiful.**_

_I can't argue with you there._

_**She is like my best friend, and is always there for me…**_

_So…_

_**Okay! I love her! I'm in Love with Tenten!**_

_I told you so._

The argument with his mind finished, Neji turned to Tenten. She was illuminated by the moon, and had finally stopped talking. Neji sighed, thinking, _It's now or never._ So he whispered, "Tenten, I need to tell you something."

She frowned slightly, and cuddled her face closer to his arm.

Taking this for a yes, Neji murmured, "Tenten. I-I. I love you."

Tenten smiled and opened her eyes. Her plan had been a success. She wrapped her arms around the startled Neji's neck, and said, "I knew that already, but I love you, too!"


End file.
